An F&B Spotlight: How Renoir is Uniquely Positioned to Help Organisations Achieve Sustainable Change

The food and beverage (F&B) sector is huge, with estimates putting it at 10% of the global gross domestic product – putting the turnover for F&B companies at about $5 trillion a year. Consumers continue to develop more health and environmental awareness. Examples include:

1. Increasing demand for health and wellness foods, particularly in the form of immunity-boosting foods and drinks.
2. Reduced demand for sugar and more usage of natural ingredients.
3. Growth in the sectors for organic, non-genetically modified, and vegetarian foods
4. Increasing concerns for the destruction of natural habitats to make way for agriculture.
5. A strong push around the world for F&B companies to reduce the amount of plastic packaging used.

As well as this awareness, other industry trends include:

1. Home deliveries
   The pandemic has meant more F&B products being directly delivered to homes.
2. Food safety, transparency, and sustainability
   As consumers demand to know more about the foods they eat, food safety is now costing the industry billions each year.
3. Rising costs and increased uncertainty
   But such as rising storage costs, increased labour costs and tightening workforce challenges. Consumers and food retailers will absorb only so much of the cost, so companies will have to look to new, innovative solutions to help control their costs and still grow.
4. Innovation and differentiation
   With so many different products available for purchase in a multitude of channels, product innovation and differentiation will be increasingly important to middle-market F&B companies.
5. Plant- and cell-based disruption
   Innovation will likely drive continued momentum of plant-based foods. Demand for plant-based milk substitutes has rocketed recently, and consumers are consuming more plant-based meat alternatives. They are growing more comfortable with the idea of meat coming from a lab instead of a farm.

The opportunity for digitalisation

As in other sectors, F&B businesses are looking for help in adopting new technologies to improve their processes and competitiveness. Digitalisation in the F&B industry has had a radical effect on factory production and distribution. The new technologies that are changing the industry include:

1. Meeting ever stricter regulations and standards
   It should come as a surprise to that the industry is one of the most tightly regulated. Using technology for the HACCP process (hazard analysis and critical control points) and maintaining databases helps organisations to monitor their products with total visibility and ensure compliance with food safety standards.
2. Internet of Things (IoT)
   In 2018 there were 7 billion connected devices, 2 years later in 2020, this has reached 20 billion – exceeding all forecasts. With 5G, the new IoT standards mean in theory it will become possible to sense and track almost anything anywhere on the surface of the planet. Given that tracking and tracing is one of the most important aspects of any F&B company, demand for IoT solutions will continue to increase.
3. Automation
   It’s difficult to discuss where digitization in the F&B industry is going without mentioning automation. Take predictive maintenance for example: cheap remote IoT sensors can replace expensive hard-wired instrumentation and sensing equipment in just any process. Consequently, the ability to easily and significantly scale up predictive maintenance – and thus reduce slowdowns and downtimes – is increased.
4. Using data better
   Many businesses today do not fully exploit the mountains of data they currently have in order to improve their operations. Companies are increasingly using software to establish a transparent view of a product’s lifecycle, from design to manufacturing to distribution. This makes decision-making a lot easier as F&B businesses are better able to identify product issues they couldn’t previously.

In summary, the F&B industry is facing some unique challenges in addition to those in common with other industries, with digitalization on a fast upward trend that is unlikely to abate soon. Renoir is primed to take advantage of this, by not only offering our traditional services but also managing and supporting the digitalisation journey of our clients.

The Renoir advantage

So, it should come as no surprise that Renoir has undertaken a substantial number of projects across this sector – from agriculture and animal husbandry to food processing, distribution, retailing and food services (such as restaurants).

We have helped our clients rise above these challenges with our deep understanding of the intricacies of the industry, decades of experience across multiple sub-sectors, and the agility to create innovative solutions that deliver a competitive advantage.

Some of our industry expertise include:

1. Organisation Strategy
   We help clients align their portfolios to adapt to the market. We also help organisations maintain their margin and results by analysing business processes and analysing and implementing sales management control systems.
2. Production Optimisation
   We bring operational efficiency and accelerate time-to-market for products and services through the assessment of processes maturity, controls, and decision-making methodologies.
3. Performance Improvement
   We bring practices to an established level of excellence and embed a culture of continuous improvement. Develop high-performance teams, eliminate losses and manage production flow.
4. Managing and Implementing Change
   Our proven methodology ensures that any planned changes will be implemented to its smallest details and its benefits last. Design new policies that align with sustainable processes, restructure the organisation and train employees to adapt to market demands.
5. Digital Solutions
   Integrate digital technologies in all areas of the business to transform business operations and deliver value. Create new or modify existing business processes, culture and customer experience to meet changing business and market requirement.
6. Sustainability and Social Responsibility
   Successfully deploy and implement new policies and initiatives to meet environment, social and governance (ESG) criteria. Implementing tools capable of measuring ESG criteria, such as indices and indicators, becomes relevant to a company’s image and profitability.

We can help you accelerate growth and efficiency across the food value chain. If you’re ready to grow your business, let’s talk.